Four Telephones
by FairyTaleLives
Summary: Set ep 4.2ish After an argument, Jess decides to keep the fact that Abby and Connor live with her a secret from Becker. He finds out anyway. Jecker & Conby. This Story is Written by Cehsja and SveaR and this is our joint account.
1. Helping Connor & Abby

Becker watched, horrified, as Jess suddenly went running after Connor and handed him the keys to her flat. When she returned to his side he immediately started in on her.

"Jessica, do you know how dangerous that is?! You can't just be giving people a free-for-all in your home! What if he was a thief? What if he's a kidnapper? Murderer?"

Jess stared at Becker in disbelief, "Becker, calm down. He's not some stranger off the street. In case you hadn't noticed, that was Connor. You know, Connor Temple. _Your friend_, Connor Temple."

Becker stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "But_ Jessica_, he's not _your _friend. _You _don't know him."

"I've read his file; I know him."

"Jessica, you don't. You can't know someone like that just by reading their file. I'm sorry, but you can't. Anyway, who knows how he's been affected in his year away. I'd think his situation alone would be enough to drive someone crazy. You can't possibly know what he's thinking! And you also can't be giving out your keys to complete strangers! I sure the hell hope you don't do this kind of thing often!"

Jess felt her eyes fill up with tears. She'd thought Becker would've been happy she was helping his friend, and here he was yelling at her. Jess hated it when anyone was mad at her, but the fact that it was Becker made it so much worse. She never had been very good at hiding her emotions, but she did her best to keep the tears from falling. Only one single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Has it occurred to you," she asked, blinking a few times to clear her vision and wiping away the traces of the tear the same time, "That you've spent the last eight months telling me how wonderful Connor and Abby are? I didn't let some random stranger in my house, Becker. I let _Connor _in my house, because I trusted _you._"

Becker stared, dumbstruck, as Jess turned and walked away, heading towards the ladies' room. He was pretty sure he'd just made a huge mistake and he felt terrible about it. After all, Jess was right. This _was_ Connor they were talking about. He wasn't sure how yet, but he'd have to make it up to her.

* * *

Jess hid away in the ladies' room where she felt safe to let the pent up tears run free. It took about five minutes until she was able to calm herself, and Jess also used that time to clear her mind and to think about Becker's words once more. The more Jess thought about it, the more she decided that Becker had only been angry because he cared about her. He'd been worried for her safety, and that was a good thing, right? She felt embarrassed by her strong reaction. She was sure that he had noticed the tears in her eyes and that it was obvious, even to Becker, that she had locked herself in here to have a good cry.

She scolded herself about that. He was a soldier, for Pete's sake. He'd probably think of her as a weak and emotional teenager now. She wished she could just run away, call Lester and ask to go home sick something, but she knew that'd only make it more awkward later, so she put on her bravest face and stepped out of the ladies' room.

She still backed her decision to have given Connor the keys to her flat, even knowing that Becker had a problem with it, but she decided to not bring it up again and hoped he'd do the same for the sake of getting along with him again.

* * *

To Becker's surprise, Jess cheered up fast. When she came out of the ladies' room she was all smiles and rambling as usual. In a quiet moment, Becker caught her eyes and gave her the tiniest of nods. They seemed to have come to a mutual understanding to let the topic slide. In return, Jess rewarded him with a huge grin.

Still, Becker wanted to make it up to her properly and couldn't think how. The solution presented itself when he heard Jess ask Matt to bring her some chocolate without orange. Good, Jess liked chocolate. Chocolate he could do. He set his mind on a plan. Somehow he needed an excuse to go out and get her some, and he needed to make sure that Matt didn't. He probably didn't have to worry about that, he had a feeling Matt would forget anyway, but he definitely needed an excuse to go out. He was so busy formulating the plan in his mind that he barely took in what she was saying about Matt and how she found his behaviour suspicious.

When he finally listened to her, he realised that she was right. Something strange was going on. "Jess, okay, you are brilliant," he told her, and was awarded with one of her smiles.

Becker took off to go give Matt a hand, but the entire time he kept reminding himself to bring her back some chocolate.

* * *

Connor had no idea that Becker had been angry about Jess giving him the keys to her flat. Sure it was a rather unusual move to make when you met someone the first time, but Connor was impressed by Jess' selfless act and didn't think too much of it.

"I've read the files, I know you!" He smiled as Jess' words echoed through his mind when he entered her flat. He remembered feeling the same way once or twice when he'd hacked into people's files himself, though he'd never outright told them that.

It was a little weird to wander around in a strangers' home when they weren't there. For some reason, he felt the need to be as quiet as possible, like he was sneaking and didn't want to be caught. He tiptoed around, looking at the living room quickly, before finding her laptop set up at the kitchen table. He stared at the decorative dial telephones set up on her counter. Each had a letter on the dial, spelling out JESS. He'd told Abby once that even though he knew a lot about art, he didn't know what he liked, but he did like this piece a lot. It was totally, Jess, he decided based on the little he knew about her.

To his surprise, one of them, the one marked E, suddenly began to ring loudly and Connor nearly jumped out of his skin. So they were hooked up then? He hadn't seen any wires. The ringing was persistent and Connor wondered if he should answer. Finally he picked up the receiver. "Jess' flat… Connor speaking."

"Con, it's Jess! I just wanted to make sure you found the place alright."

"Thanks Jess. Obviously I'm here, I guess. I like the phones."

Jess giggled, "Thanks! I bought them from a vintage shop and painted them myself. Then I took them apart and replaced the parts to some more modern technology to make them work cordlessly. They're like giant mobiles now."

"You're brilliant. Only the E phone rang."

"Yep, they're all on different lines. I give different people different numbers since they don't have call display. Helps me guess who might be on the other end. Anyway, I'd best get back to work now. See you later, yeah?"

"See ya," Connor replied.

He hung up the phone and smiled to himself. Something about this Jess girl definitely cheered him up. He hoped they'd be friends even if he didn't get his job back.

After only a few minutes of searching for a place to live, Connor found himself bored and started searching for creature sightings instead. He knew he was supposed to be staying away from the ARC and staying out of trouble, but his curiosity got the better of him. Anyway, if it was a civilian sighting online, he wasn't really encroaching upon ARC territory, he justified to himself. He wasn't surprised to find that there were some, knowing what he did about anomalies and all that, but he was surprised to find such extensive evidence online provided by his own childhood friend, Duncan.

And so, Connor decided to pay his mate a little visit. Duncan told him about the disappearance of homeless. Connor convinced Abby to help him and sure enough, got himself caught when Matt followed her and then called Becker for backup and soon enough the entire ARC team knew that he was out on the field and Connor rather hoped that this would turn out well for him and not hurt his chances of getting his job back any further. Still, he felt he had done the right thing and he _knew _he'd saved some lives today.

* * *

Jess stared at the chocolate bar in front of her. The team, and Connor, had returned to the ARC and to her surprise, it'd been Becker that handed her the chocolate instead of Matt. It was in that moment that she suddenly realized her feelings for Becker were more than just those of a silly crush. She, Jessica Parker, was in love. And with that realization she found herself suddenly and unusually speechless. She barely managed to thank him in her surprise. He took off as quick as he had handed it to her, but he did turn back suddenly. "Nothing with orange in it, right?" he asked, making sure.

"Right," Jess confirmed, cursing her sudden tongue-tiedness. Becker scurried off, probably to do some security stuff, and Jess bit her lip as she grinned at the chocolate bar.

And then suddenly Abby and Connor were at her side. They noticed her embarrassment over the chocolate and Jess quickly tried to change the subject. She'd already decided to offer them a place to stay in her flat for awhile. She really liked Abby and Connor and admired them. She'd wanted to meet them both for so long and, now that she had, she thought she liked them even more. There was just something about the pair that made her feel quite comfortable. Abby's slight teasing over the chocolate made her feel even surer of her decision. She thought they could easily become great friends.

Jess tried not to think about what Becker's reaction would be. If she were lucky, maybe he wouldn't find out. She was pretty sure that she'd won the argument earlier, and she knew she was doing the right thing, but she still didn't want him to know.

But before they could discuss it any further, they were interrupted by Lester's voice resounding through the HUB.

"I suppose this is what you think of not getting into trouble?!"

Connor straightened himself, ready to stand his ground, to fight for his job, the job he had promised Nick Cutter he'd continue. He took a deep breath before he answered. "Listen Lester, you need to know something! You can sack me, but you can't stop me from doing this work. Threaten me, disown me, punish me, whatever, but if I think there is a creature loose, I'm gonna investigate it! Okay?"

The computer geek was aware that he had all the eyes on him. Matt, Becker, Jess and Abby watched the scene with interest, waiting to see Lester's reaction. To their surprise, the man in question simply shrugged his shoulders and calmly replied, "Oh, since you put it like that. You're back on the team."

A couple of audible sighs of relief sounded, and, despite getting what he wanted, Connor was almost taken aback by Lester's reaction. After the words sunk in, he turned to Abby and grinned brightly. "Blimey! I should get angry more often!" Then, thinking about it, he turned back to their already retreating boss and shouted after him, "And I want a pay rise!"

Lester slowly turned around. "Don't push your luck!"

* * *

It'd been a few months now since Connor and Abby had moved in with Jess. When they'd first moved in, Jess had been so excited that she'd almost felt like a groupie, but as time past, the three had quickly developed an extremely close friendship.

Now, however, Connor had started spending more and more time at work doing secret projects for Philip. Jess missed him terribly and knew that Abby missed him even more. Even when he was home, he was always on the phone with Philip. As often as not, he'd excuse himself to the kitchen to use one of her dial phones. He'd taken a strong liking to them, and it made Jess proud of her work.

Tonight, Abby had slammed the door on her way to her bedroom and refused to come out. Jess knew that Connor had told her he'd be working late again. She knocked gently on Abby's door and called, "Abby, do you want to talk?"

"No!" her friend retorted. "Leave me alone, Jess."

Jess decided then and there she'd talk to Connor herself. Usually Abby would sit in the living room with Jess and complain about Connor to her and listen as Jess complained to Abby that Becker was never going to ask her out. If Abby didn't want to talk, she'd been really hurt.

* * *

Connor did a double take when he came home at two in the morning and found Jess sitting on one of the bar stools in her nightshirt, sleeping with her head on the counter.

"Jess," Connor whispered, shaking her awake. He knew if she didn't go to her own bed she'd be stiff and sore in the morning. "Jess, what are you doing here?"

Jess looked up at Connor confusedly as her eyes slowly opened. "I live here."

Connor smiled, "I mean, why are you in the kitchen instead of your bed?"

He waited as Jess looked around, trying to remember herself. Finally she seemed to wake up fully. "I was waiting for you, Connor. We need to talk."

"Jess, can it wait? I've just got home from work and I'm exhausted."

"It's important," Jess insisted, standing up and pushing him with surprising force down onto the stool.

Connor sighed, "Alright, Jess, what's up?"

"Look, Connor, I know you can't tell us about your work and I know it's super important and I know that the fact Philip hired you proves that you are brilliant…"

"I wish Abby thought so…" Connor interrupted, but he smiled at her thankfully.

"And that's why we need to talk. Con, I think she'd think better of you if you could make a little time for her. She's really upset that you don't care about her anymore."

"I care about Abby!" Connor protested.

"And I know that," Jess smiled, "It's obvious to me, but she doesn't feel that way. So, you've gotta fight for her, Connor, and I'm gonna help you. Of course, we've established your work is important, so we're gonna do this without using up any more of your time, or at least not much. Can you do five minutes a day?"

Connor stared at her doubtfully. "You think I'm going to make Abby happy again in five minutes?"

"Well, how long does it take you to order flowers for her? Or make her toast and OJ in the morning? Could you not take just five minutes in the middle of the day to chat with her about something that's not work? Just so she knows you're thinking of her? Or how about phoning her five times for a minute throughout the day?"

Connor was silent and when Jess saw that he wasn't answering, she continued. "Besides, you aren't _always _working. You work late and then sleep in and she doesn't see you. You know she's an early riser. Can't you get up earlier and start your job earlier and work more time in the morning so that you can go to bed at the same time as her?"

"Fine," Connor muttered, "I'll work on it."

"Good," Jess grinned, kissing his cheek. "I knew you were a genius."

Connor gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks Jess. Can I go to bed now?"

She nodded and went to her own room too. Long after he'd gone to bed though, Connor lay awake thinking about what Jess had said. The fact that Abby thought he didn't even care really hit him hard. After all, he was doing all this to make _her _proud. He'd take Jess' advice, starting the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow he planned on spending the _entire _day with her to make up for lost time.


	2. Of Burglars & Beckers

The weirdest thing about Jess' phones all being on separate lines was trying to figure out which was ringing. Or maybe the weirdest thing was talking on one while the other rang. Connor, when home, usually spent a lot of time on the phone discussing technologies with Philip that Abby, and even Jess, didn't understand.

He was doing that in the morning when Abby got up and, if it wasn't for the fact that his side of the bed was a mess, she'd have thought he hadn't slept at all. It wouldn't have been the fist time.

"Yep," she heard Connor say into the second S phone as she plugged in the kettle, "Listen, I gotta go. I've got another call to make."

He hung up and immediately began to dial again. '_Without even so much as a good morning to me,_' Abby thought to herself without surprise.

She noticed suddenly that one of the other phones was ringing and sighed as she reached around him to pick up the J phone. "Jess' flat, Abby speaking."

"Morning Abs!" Connor said into the second S phone, flashing her a grin. "Just calling to say I love you and I've already made you breakfast."

Abby's face lit up as she playfully shoved at him. "Connor, you dork! Why are you calling me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Abs, Jess' phones are brilliantly fun."

Abby laughed and flicked his shoulder.

"Ow! Listen, Abs, I'm gonna have to go in a moment. Some hot chick keeps beating up on me."

"Oh, what a shame, but where's this breakfast?"

"In the living room on the coffee table."

At that moment Jess entered the room. "Morning!" she said, as cheerfully and chipper as always.

"Morning," Abby replied, hanging up the phone.

"Hello? Helloooo? Did you just hang up on me?" Connor whined into the phone. "Please pick up! Please!"

Jess stared at him. "If someone's hung up on you, Con, they can't hear you begging. You know that right?"

"They can if they're standing next to me," Connor muttered. "I was talking to Abby."

"Ah, I see," Jess said with a puzzled expression that contradicted her words. "You know, you may both be crazy. Anyway, I'm off to work, see you."

"Jess, I know you like to be early, but two hours before your shift starts is a bit ridiculous," Abby pointed out.

Jess nodded, "I know, but I want to get off by ten to go to my nephew's birthday party." She ran out the door with a friendly wave.

As soon as she was gone, Connor picked up the E phone and called Abby again on the first S one. Abby rolled her eyes as she picked up. "Yes, Connor?"

"Your breakfast is getting cold."

"So it is. Are you gonna join me in the living room, or are we gonna sit here on the phone all morning?"

"I'll join you, but before I hang up, I have to tell you something very important."

"What's that?"

"I talked our way into a day off, provided there're no anomalies."

Abby hung up the phone in surprise. "No work for you either?"

"None. Philip may be mad when Lester tells him, but I'm the most brilliant one there, he can't fire me. Seriously though, did you _really_ just hang up on me again?"

Abby giggled, "Sorry, I s'pose I'm not trained in telephone etiquette. So what are we gonna do today then?"

Connor shrugged, "S'up to you."

"Let's just stay in then, K? Chillax for a bit? Maybe go out for a walk in the neighbourhood? By the way, you can probably hang up that phone now, Con."

"Oh, right," Connor spoke into the receiver before placing it back on its base.

* * *

Abby was enjoying her day, really she was. She and Connor had spent the morning enjoying a leisurely breakfast and just talking like they used to. When Connor's mobile had gone off and she'd seen Philip's number flash across it, she'd felt the disappointment well up as she just _knew _Philip would be angry and convince Connor to change his mind about their day off, but Connor had simply switched the phone off without answering. He glanced at Abby with a grin and said, "I've decided I only answer phones that spell out JESS today, and Philip doesn't have any of those numbers."

After that, they had gone for their walk. It'd been a nice relaxing stroll and Connor had held her hand the entire time, but Abby noticed something. Connor was _tired. _Exhausted really. She was starting to worry about him, so when they got back, she suggested they take a nap together.

They'd stripped down to their underwear and climbed into bed when a loud persistent hammering started on the front door. They glanced at each other, puzzled.

"Ignore it," Connor said, "It might be Philip."

"You think he'd come _here?" _Abby asked, incredulously and hating the man just a little bit more.

Connor shrugged, "I don't know."

But the banging continued until it suddenly became stronger and louder and resulted in a huge crash. Connor and Abby stared at each other in dismay because they were sure someone had just bashed the entire door down.

"Might be a robber," Connor whispered. "Stay here, Abs. I'll check it out."

"And what are you gonna do if it is?" she whispered back.

"I dunno," he replied, "I'll think of something." He gave her a quick kiss and dashed out into the living room, grabbing a lamp to use as a weapon if he needed to, though he didn't know yet what he'd do with it.

To his relief it wasn't an armed robber, and to his surprise, it was an armed Becker that stood in the middle of the room.

"What the hell?" they both asked at the same time, staring at each other in shock.

It was Connor who recovered faster as he stared at the broken door. "Dude, you couldn't just call first? We'd have let you in."

"What are you _doing _here?" Becker asked, staring at Connor who was standing in his boxers holding a lamp.

"Trying to have a nap and protect my Abby from burglars who turn out to be Beckers." Connor retorted. "What are you doing here?"

Becker ignored the question. "Okay, first of all, you really need some more training if you think that thing is a weapon," he gestured at the lamp, "and secondly, do you _live _here?"

Connor nodded, "'Course I live here. Wait a minute, you didn't know that? You thought this was a stranger's house? Don't tell me you were actually trying to rob someone?"

"You're an idiot," Becker responded. "I thought it was Jess' flat."

"It.." he was interrupted by a hand muffling his mouth and he looked around to find a fully clothed Abby behind him. He stared at her in surprise.

"Sorry, Becker, but can I talk to him a moment, alone?"

Becker nodded and watched as Abby dragged Connor back to the bedroom. He'd been panicked because when he'd gone to bring Jess some chocolate around lunch time, he'd found that she wasn't at the ARC anymore. He'd searched high and low for her and she hadn't answered her phone either. When she hadn't answered the door, he'd broken it down. He knew it was silly to worry about her like that, but somehow he couldn't help it. Only turns out it was Abby and Connor's flat. He wondered how he'd possibly gotten the wrong address. He was sure it'd been Jess' file he'd been looking at.

* * *

Connor stared at Abby as she shut the door behind them. "You can't tell, Connor." Abby said.

"Tell what?"

"That Jess lives here, of course."

"Why not?"

"She didn't, did she? She must have wanted to keep it a secret from Becker that we live with her. I don't know why, but we can't blab her secret."

"And _where _are we going to say she does live, when he asks?"

"I don't know," Abby responded, thinking, and then grinned. "That's what we'll say actually. We don't know. The files must have accidentally put our address on both, and we don't know where she lives."

"Fine," Connor muttered, preparing to go back out there.

Abby smiled at him, "By the way, thank-you, for trying to save me." She grabbed him and gave him a deep kiss.

* * *

Becker, who hadn't moved a millimetre since Abby and Connor left the room, wondered how he was going to explain the fact that he'd been busting down what he thought was Jess' door in a panic. He was a trained soldier and it was only when it came to Jess that he ever really felt truly scared. Suddenly a ringing telephone interrupted his thoughts.

He moved over to the kitchen, wondering if he should pick up since Connor and Abby were still in the bedroom. He stopped short when he saw the phones. JESS. Why the hell would Connor and Abby have telephones that spelled out Jess. And then suddenly it hit him that they were living here _with _Jess. He picked up the phone before he could think about it too much, hoping it'd be someone that would know where she was. "Uh, hello? Jess' flat, Becker here."

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Jess' voice squeaked out, "Becker?! What…"

"Jess! You're okay! Where are you?"

"At my nephew's party. Becker, why are you in my flat?"

Becker blushed, happy that no one could see it. "I was looking for you. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" He hoped he wasn't sounding too pathetic.

"I didn't think I needed to," Jess responded. "Lester knew. I don't report to you."

"Yeah but, I was worried," Becker admitted, finding it easier to talk over the phone.

Jess smiled to herself, feeling flushed by his admission. "Listen, Becker, I can't talk long. Joey is hanging onto my sleeve already. Tell Abby and Connor I'm stay at my sister's overnight. But don't hang around for too long, they need some alone time. See you tomorrow!"

And then she had hung up before Becker had even had the chance to reply. Taken by surprise, and still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the fact that she was living with Connor and Abby, Becker shouted his farewells towards the closed door that Abby and Connor had disappeared behind. Abby poked her nose out at his words and he let her know he'd send someone one to fix the front door shortly and passed on Jess' message that she was spending the night at her sister's.

* * *

That night, Becker had a hard time falling asleep. He felt cross and betrayed by the fact that Jess hadn't told him about their living arrangements. She had put herself into unforeseeable danger and it terrified him that he hadn't even known it. Not that he didn't trust Abby and Connor, but she _shouldn't have. _That was the point he'd been trying to make all along. Who knew what else she was doing behind his back. He would have had to talk to her about her safety tomorrow.

With that thought, he finally fell asleep. He dreamed of Jess cheerfully and innocently handing out keys to her flat to every person on the street. Then he dreamed that those same people were emptying out her home moments later, and there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Becker found Jess at the ADD. She stood beside the computer talking to Abby. The soldier assumed it was about her nephew's party. When the girls saw him approaching, Abby left and Jess flashed him one of her gorgeous smiles.

Much to Jess' surprise, Becker didn't smile back at her. When he stopped in front of her and started to talk, Jess couldn't believe her ears.

"You asked Connor and Abby to move in with you on the day they returned from the Cretaceous, right?"

Taken aback by the sharpness in his voice, she nodded in response.

"Jess! I've told you how dangerous it is to open your flat to strangers. What if they'd stolen everything in there?" His voice rose in volume. "I ordered you to not give your keys away like that. You disobeyed me! And to top it off, yesterday you simply disappeared without telling me where you were going. You left before your shift was over."

The Field-Coordinator's eyes widened as she got over her speechless shock. Did Becker really thing she was such a helpless teenager that she couldn't take care of herself? She was sick of being patronized. Jess straightened her shoulders a little more.

"You ordered me? You _ordered_ me? You know what Becker?" Her voice now matched his, "I was truly flattered that you seemed to care for me. Happy really. But obviously all I am to you is a little child who needs taken care of. Well guess what? I might be only nineteen, but I _can_ take care of myself. It's not up to _you _what I do in my own home and I don't _have _to obey you. I'll make my own decisions, thank-you. Oh, and I know who I have to report to if I leave work early. It's Lester, by the way. It's not like you and I dating or something where there'd be reason for me to keep you informed, so there is no need for me to tell you about my plans for a day. If I want to visit family or friends, I can do so. I don't need your approval. We are colleagues, remember, not even friends: your words."

Becker was staring at her in silence and Jess took a deep breath before she went on, "I'd also like to know, since when do you have the right to break into my flat? If you were worried about me, you could have called! I would have told you. No need to damage other people's belongings. Oh, by the way, I think I'll be leaving early again."

With that said, Jess turned on her heels, leaving Becker speechless behind.

"Mate, you've blown it!" Connor said, as stepped out beside the soldier and stared after Jess.

Becker glared at the computer geek before he fled out of the HUB himself, thinking to himself that Connor was right.


	3. Phone Calls

**Final Chapter**

It took a full day for Becker to decide what to do and he now stood in front of the menagerie, not ready yet to enter. He needed help, he knew that for sure, and Abby was the only person he felt he could ask.

Looking back on his argument with Jess, Becker now realized that he could have, no he should have, phrased his worries differently. But all those emotions had gotten the better of him. He wanted her to know that he had been genuine concerned when she disappeared from work, and most of all, he wanted her to know that he didn't see her as a child, but a beautiful woman.

But he had no idea what to do. His attempt to give her a box of chocolate had failed; for the first time Jess had ignored his gift. She'd remained distant from him all morning. She was friendly, but didn't look at him. She didn't offer him one of her sweet smiles and her rambling was directed towards the others. She only talked in short sentences to him and only when she need to for wor.

For a moment longer, Becker debated with himself, before he overcame his pride and stepped into the menagerie.

"I need your help," he said flat out.

"Okay," Abby couldn't hide her surprise, but knew better then to tease him this time.

"I messed up with Jess. I got really worried about her the other day when she left work without telling me, but instead of telling her that, I gave her a lecture about how she disobeyed my order to not give strangers her key. And I said that she should at least have told me that she was leaving work. I did call, really, but she didn't answer her phone."

"Which number did you use?"

Puzzled at the question, Becker gave her the number he had been calling two days ago.

"Gosh, you did mess up big times!" Connor appeared out of seemed like nowhere to Becker.

"Temple, what are you doing here?" Shock was temporarily written across the soldier's face.

"Visiting my girlfriend, and Rex," Connor flopped down onto the nearest chair, "but enough about me. You called the J-phone. That's Jess' 'favourite people phone'"

"Jess' what?" Becker had always thought that Connor was a little out of it, but he now started to worry about him seriously.

"Remember the four phones in our flat? The ones that spell out JESS?" When Becker nodded in response, Abby took over.

"The phones are set up to different lines. She gives out the numbers to different people: the E-phone is for people she doesn't know or doesn't like, the first S-phone is for family members, the second S is for friends. But the J is only for her favourite people. Connor and I have the number as well, but truth to be said, I bet she only gave it to us because she felt she had too after telling us what the lines meant."

It took a bit until the words finally sunk in. "Wait, no one else has the J-phone number? Only you two and me? But I got the number two months after Jess started working at the ARC."

Connor and Abby looked at their friend expectantly.

Becker felt excitement wash over him. He was her favourite person! Then he realized something.

"So for a good seven months her J-phone was never once rang?"

"Yep!" Connor stated.

"I have to apologize. Properly."

"Yeah, you should do that." Connor said, earning a shove from Abby.

The blonde stepped closer to Becker. "Well, you broke down her front door, because you were worried about her. Just ask her on a date already."

"_On a date_?" he asked incredulously, as if the thought had never quite occurred to him. "I can't do that! I work with her!"

"Connor and I work together," she pointed out.

"You're braver than I am," Becker said, not quite believing he had. "I wouldn't be able to handle knowing that my girlfriend works at such a dangerous job."

Connor chuckled, "Oh? But you feel okay knowing that Jess is working at that same job when she's _not_ your girlfriend?"

Becker frowned; he _did_ have a point. "But she's not talking to me. Whenever I try to talk to her about something other than work, she finds an excuse to leave."

"I have an idea!" Conner excitedly jumped up from his seat and started pacing through the room. "You could get her more phones. She really loves her phones. Jess even told me this morning that she's thinking about getting three more so she can spell out her full name. I can help you with the technology."

"And I help you with the painting!" Abby offered immediately. "She won't be able to ignore you when you've such a great gift in hand."

The tension left the soldier as he listened, amused by the couple's words. They might be annoying at times, but he had to admit that the idea could work.

"Okay, I'm in!"

"And Becker, _talk to her_. Tell her about your feelings, will you? She needs to hear about them." Abby said quietly when Connor wasn't listening.

* * *

Jess was home alone that evening when there came a knock on her new front door.

She quickly went to open it, but no one was there. Rather, a large wrapped box was sitting on her threshold. A card was neatly placed on top of it with her name scrawled on it.

Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized the hand writing as Becker's.

Jess pulled the box inside and opened it carefully. Inside were three telephones, neatly painted, with the letters ICA on them. She stared in surprise, but before anything sunk in, the I phone started to ring.

"Jess speaking," she answered, curiously.

"Miss Parker, I have to inform you that there is an emotional retard on the loose. I heard that he wants to apologize for some improper behavior towards a beautiful and smart young lady."

Jess blushed at the words. She was sure she had heard the voice before, but couldn't quite place it. Without a word of goodbye, the person on the other line hung up, but the A-phone rang an instant later.

"Jess, it's Abby. When the door bell rings, please open it." Abby also hung up before Jess could respond. She hadn't even replaced the receiver when the C-phone started its melody.

"Jess speaking, let me guess: Connor?"

"Yeah, isn't this exciting! I have me own line now! C for Connor!" There was a muffled sound in the background. "Sorry back to the topic. Give him a chance to say sorry."

The weird phone calls started to make sense to the Field-Coordinator and her heart beat sped up.

Jess had felt bad after her argument with Becker, but his lecture had been unnecessary and she felt like she had to stand up for herself. In her mind, he had owed her a better apology than just a bar of chocolate. It seemed perhaps she might be getting that. She placed the new telephones on her kitchen table, in order, when the bell rang. Nervously she went to the door and opened it again.

She found herself face to face with a single red flower. Before she could say a word Becker handed it to her and began to speak.

"Jessica, I am so sorry for my outburst yesterday. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

Feeling jittery, Becker ran his hand through his hair. "I actually wanted to tell you that I was worried about you. It was just so unlike you to leave the ARC before closing. I know you don't have to report to me. And I shouldn't have broken your door."

Before Jess could answer her E-phone was ringing. The girl jumped at the given opportunity which would buy her some more time to think of a response, but motioned him in before she answered the phone.

"Jess speaking."

"It's Becker."

Surprised, Jess turned towards the man standing a few meters behind her, who was now holding his mobile to his ear, having had dialled ahead of time and hit send in his pocket.

"Oh, not you too," she said with a laugh. "Connor already talks to Abby on the phones. You know you don't need them when we're in the same room."

Becker, who was relieved to see her smile, shut his mobile and looked at her in dismay, "Jessica! That's_ not_ the polite way to answer the phone."

"Sorry," she apologized, hanging up. "Shall we try again?"

Becker ignored her, but dialled again. Jess got a grin on her face as she answered, "Parker Residence. This is Jessica Parker. May I ask who is calling and how I may be of assistance to you?"

"I said polite Jess, not formal. But I'll go with it." He flashed her a grin across the room and then his voice turned serious and he stared at her intensively. "Jess, look, whenever it comes to you, emotions wash over me that I can't handle. And believe me I don't see you as a child, but as a smart, clever and beautiful young woman."

He took a deep breath and continued, "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me for dinner tonight?"

Becker saw her surprised smile as she responded, "Before I agree, I have two questions. Who called the I-phone and why didn't you call the J-phone? That's the number I've given you."

The soldier laughed at her questions. "It was Matt. I gave him and Lester the number in case of an emergency. Consider the I phone your anomaly alert phone. As for the J-phone, Abby and Connor told me what line it was and I figured I didn't deserve to call your favourite person phone."

"Ah, yes, I see your point about that, but hopefully the date will change that. Because otherwise I don't really need the phone anymore with Abby and Connor now having their own lines. And then my name would read Essica, and that's just be silly." She realized she was back to her usual flustered rambling when Becker raised an eyebrow at her, she cut herself off and smiled at him brightly. "Pick me up at eight!"


End file.
